“It was brought to my attention that while ‘gender identity’ is included in many of the city ordinances, there are sections of the code that needed to be updated to make sure that its inclusion was consistent throughout,” City Councilmember Alex Wan, who introduced the legislation, told the GA Voice.
The nondiscrimination policy seeks to ensure employers with more than 10 employees in the city as well as those who provide housing and public accommodations can not, for example, fire someone for being gay or transgender.
Other cities and municipalities with non-discrimination policies include Decatur, East Point, Savannah, Clarkston, Doraville, Athens-Clarke County, DeKalb County and Fulton County, according to Georgia Equality, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group. Georgia Equality is currently lobbying for passage of a bill sponsored by state Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) to prohibit discrimination against state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.